Steven Universe: Dark Shadow
by Shadow0907
Summary: The shadow of Homeworld is great, but there are greater shadows biding their time to consume them. Known as Darkworld, they seek to conquer through deception of their foes. The Mysterious Red Gem is only one part of a terrifying cycle, and the Crystal Gems will find themselves thrown into a greater war, one which will call into question the morality of sparing those that do wrong.
1. Chapter 1: The Red Stranger

**Alright, before we get into the main story of this fanfic, I would like to point out some of the differences between the original canon of Steven Universe and this one. Subjects include:**

**1: Different gem types and gender looks. I'm aware that most, if not all gems are considered sexless, but I wanted to test out some gems with male appearances. I apologize if that doesn't strike your fancy, but I wish for other gems that appear male.**

**2: New Diamonds. There will also be new Diamonds, including Diamonds of the following colors: Red, Black, Green, Purple, Orange. I will dive into these Diamonds periodically, starting with the forces of Red due to him having a personal score to settle with one Rose Quartz.**

**3: More "Elite" gems. Certain Diamonds have felt the need to create stronger gems, and the successful gems that have had extreme power are classified as "Prime Gems" if there's more than one gem of that type. Certain Diamonds will also have a servant that they heavily trust due to being created personally, and there only being one of that gem known to their faction.**

**4: Machines. There will also be more forms of machinery, and this universe contains at least one scientific gem that works on experiments of very questionable ethics, which may extend to corrupted gems and mech-gem hybrids.**

**And the timeline will be sometime after a certain blue gem caused chaos, so sometime between the middle and end of season 1. With all of that out of the way, here are the disclaimers. Steven Universe is owned by Rebecca Sugar and Cartoon Network. This fanfic is non-profit, and I take my disclaimers seriously. I hope you enjoy.**

**Steven Universe: Dark Shadow**

**Chapter 1: The Red Stranger**

**Prime Kindergarten**

**9:00 AM**

The sky was clear, save for a strange, rectangular spaceship. This ship would land somewhere in the Kindergarten that was safe from theft and any wreckage and debris falling, and once landed, a door would open as several stairs protruded from the ship. Inside, a red-skinned individual with blackish-red hair, and wearing a red lab coat with several pockets, deactivated the ship's engines upon arrival. Once that was done, he got out of the cockpit and walked over to a stand where a black, spherical drone with one eye lay deactivated on a stand, protected from harm by a specialized force field designed for cargo.

The individual would deactivate the force field, and proceeded to activate the drone inside it. Once it was activated, its single, red eye glowed as it floated up using some form of antigravity. The individual would order the drone to follow him, and the drone followed while making several beeps and noises. The individual and his drone would exit the ship, and once outside, he would examine the area around him.

"So, this is what it looks like deactivated… though I wonder if there are still any gems here, since my master only permitted me here because of high gem energies coming from this planet. Haven't seen the life here since Red's little war with those Crystal Gems, though I'm sure that they're still here based on those same energies." the individual monologued.

He then turned to his drone and ordered "DRON-5. Activate the ship's cloaking. We can't have any gems knowing we were here even if it would make little difference." to which the drone complied, and activated the ship's cloaking system remotely.

"Good. Now, analyze the Homeworld tech here, and see if anything has been activated recently. In the meantime, I'll see if that supercomputer in the base is still there. Contact me if there's trouble or witnesses." the individual ordered to the drone, which was also complied, so the two split up. While the drone examined the ancient gem tech, the individual went to see if the elevator to the Kindergarten's supercomputer was still where it was in the 4500 years that he had been gone. He wasn't disappointed, as it was still active, but old. He entered a passcode in the security panel after activating it, and once entering, he set the coordinates to go to the main supercomputer.

**Prime Kindergarten (Supercomputer Area)**

**9:15 AM**

Once the elevator had arrived, the doors opened, allowing the individual to look at the main supercomputer that housed the information stored away 4500 years ago. He walked to the massive, green computer that was waiting for activation, and proceeded to begin to reactivate it. Green lights glowed around the room as the computer began the reactivation process. Once the computer was activated, the individual took the time to hack into the system, while commenting "Easier than a mere dissection, considering I've done hundreds of those. Humans, alien life, animals, they're all fair game to me. And after The Rebellion, I've had plenty of gems to satisfy that obsession."

With the computer activated and hacked, the individual took out a small drive from one of his lab coat's pockets, and transferred data concerning a weapon created by the Homeworld Diamonds. "Yellow just couldn't let her pride get wounded… and that's just one reason for Red's defection. Among many, many others." the individual grimaced as he recollected information about Yellow Diamond.

"But enough of that. Now, that I've collected my information, I should be on my way. I'll stop by the moon later to get my coordinates." the individual said, as he took the elevator back up to the main area.

**Prime Kindergarten**

**9:30 AM**

The individual walked out of the elevator, and was soon met with his drone, who wanted to show him something of great importance. "What is it, DRON-5?" he asked. The drone activated a recording in response, which showed an encounter between a human and a gem in the control room.

As he watched the conversation, the gem he classified as a peridot left the conversation and activated one of the control room's fists to crush the human, before being stopped by a gem he would soon classify as a garnet. Two other gems, which he classified as a pearl and a defective amethyst, followed.

"Ah! More? But the Red Eye didn't report the presence of any gems on this planet!" the peridot stated in shock.

"That's because we destroyed it." the pearl stated.

"You what? But the records say that Gems were wiped out on earth… wait a minute… you're the ones that have been destroying my Plug Robonoids… are you the reason the Homeworld Warp is down again? Is THIS your bizarre icon?" the peridot asked as it showed the other gems and human a strange sticker.

"Pause." the individual ordered, and the drone followed it. He then took the time to examine the scenario.

"So… there might be remnants of the Crystal Gems on this planet… but unless I get confirmation from this recording, I am left to speculate. I will admit that image is bizarre, that's one thing those Homeworld rats manage to get right. I will look into Earth today later… after I report this to my master. Unpause." the individual speculated, before ordering his drone to unpause the video, which was followed.

"Why do you keep destroying my THINGS!?" the peridot asked in frustration.

"Because we are the Crystal Gems! We're still alive, and we're still the guardians of this planet and all its living creatures!" the pearl stated as she pulled out a sword, while the other gems prepared their weapons.

"The Crystal Gems?" the peridot asked in confusion.

The Crystal Gems then jumped and attacked the hand constructs that were being used to access the facility.

"Stop! How dare you? I'm doing this one way or another. You're just… making it… really… difficult!" the peridot shouted as the pearl and amethyst managed to break one hand.

"Amethyst, now!" the garnet yelled.

"Destroy!" the amethyst shouted as she used her whip to grab the second hand and throw it at the power source, breaking it in the process.

"I'm reporting this!" the peridot said before the screen disappeared. The recording ended soon after, and the individual took the time to process the information.

"Heh heh heh heh… HAHAHAHAHAHA! Red's going to have a field day if this ends up in front of him… so we'll just have to report back to master, otherwise the fun will be over too soon!" the individual laughed.

"DRON-5. Deac- hush!" the individual ordered as he and his drone hid against a wall, where he would look and see the three gems and human walking. They would be walking towards a Galaxy Warp, before using it to teleport out of the vicinity.

"Right… this will need to be reported to the Grand Master one way or another. Now, like I was about to say, deactivate the ship's cloaking. We're done here, for now." the individual ordered his drone, which followed and deactivated the cloaking system.

The individual walked toward his ship. "Now, then… I'll make sure to reactivate you when I get back to Darkworld." he stated as he deactivated his drone and placed it inside the deactivated force field, before reactivating the force field.

He would then walk toward the pilot's seat, before getting inside it and starting the ship's engines. It would float up, before flying out of the Kindergarten.

"Heh. This will prove to be integral in our war." the individual mentioned before the ship's hyperdrive activated, transporting him to places unknown.

**?**

**?**

"So, Cinnabar, what did you find from those signals, and did you obtain the data I asked you to collect?" spoke an ominous voice. From his view, the Gem named Cinnabar was bowing down to him.

"I wasn't able to locate the source of the gem energy, but I assume it came from a Homeworld gem like a Lapis Lazuli, Jasper, Amethyst, there are plenty to accuse. I swiped the information from the Homeworld database there…" Cinnabar explained as he tossed the flash drive to the location of the voice, which was caught by a black hand.

"And with that information, I found something else. DRON-5, play that recording." Cinnabar ordered his drone, who replayed the recording it obtained. Once it finished, Cinnabar waited for a response.

"Interesting… it appears the Crystal Gems have resurfaced in the War. They must have destroyed that Red Eye that Peridot mentioned. But if they're here on Earth, then they'll need to listen to reason. I know Red won't, after all. And that human intrigues me as well if he's with them." the unknown voice noted.

"Grand Master, what is your next course of action?" Cinnabar asked.

"I want you to spy." the voice ordered.

"On who?"

"Earth. Homeworld will hear of this, and if I know Yellow, she'll send at least one warship to annihilate the Crystal Gems. I wonder if Rose has went out of hiding, or if she's gone for good."

"So you want me to interfere with that? Or do you want me to hunt down the Cluster?"

"The Cluster is not our priority now. The Crystal Gems are. However, if Homeworld decides to capture them instead, see to it that you hijack the ship and set a course for Darkworld. If the Crystal Gems escape that capture, you have permission to hold back and retreat. We cannot have them fighting us when they expect us to be Homeworld's equal. They. Are. Not. Our. Equals. I am perfectly aware us Darkworlders are superior to the Homeworlders, and the rest of our kind should be aware of that."

"At least I'm aware. And I shall do as you say. I assume this is an alone mission, then?"

"Yes. But do make sure that if you fight them, when you meet again, make sure to establish us as your unnamed allies. They could fear us Darkworlders, so make sure you don't say you're with us unless Ebon is present."

"Ah, that guy. Always affirming his superiority over all of us sans yourself."

"He's serious, not insecure." the voice defended.

"Right, right. I get those two confused sometimes. Because really, what else would you call that-"

"Cinnabar." the voice spoke in restrained anger.

"Yes?" Cinnabar responded.

"Spy on the Crystal Gems immediately. NOW, GO!" the voice spoke in anger, causing Cinnabar to leave the room with his drone following him.

**So, that's the mysterious Gem, Cinnabar. There will be other associates in the ranks of the unknown leader like the previously mentioned Ebon, but there will also be warriors with unique personalities. I am aware that Steven Universe usually references anime, so there might be at least one Gem that resembles something from that, like an elemental villain.**

**And there's also a planned expansion on corruption and the Cluster, considering Cinnabar is a scientific Gem that likes to keep specimens alive for his experiments. Now that Earth is open to him, it brings with it the chance of villainy. And with him about to see the Crystal Gems in action, there will be chaos in the air.**

**With those in mind, I must say goodbye until the next chapter!**


	2. Chapter 2: The Flame and the Mirror

**I'm here with some more of Steven Universe: Dark Shadow. Remember, I only own my OC's, and my OC's only.**

**Chapter 2: The Orange Flame and the Unknown Mirror**

**Hiding Spot (Near Beach City)**

**9:00 AM**

Cinnabar stood in a forest clearing that overlooked the city. "I don't know about the Master's idea of spying on Earth when we should be dealing with the Cluster, but his words are law. And besides, I was able to gather some information on the humans that lived in this particular area." he stated.

"Like what information? I doubt a pencil pusher like you could stop researching things for ten straight seconds." a shadowed figure stated from a hologram, his voice having a slight form of static to it from the communicator.

"Ebon, the only reason I chose this place in particular was because it was close to where those energies were spotted. Although I haven't seen the gem responsible, it must have been one of great power in Homeworld. The highest officials like Cobalt or that Prime Topaz nutcase couldn't be it because their diamonds care less about Earth since they believed those Crystal Gems were annihilated. Though judging from the numbers, those must have been the only ones left. A shame. I was hoping to collect some for research. Those 'Corrupted Gems' I saw might pique my interest since Rose Quartz is gone, and I'm curious why that human chooses to associate himself with those gems." Cinnabar monologued.

"Fine. But I would assume a high, but not too high official." the figure stated.

Cinnabar then pulled out a picture of Steven. "And this 'Steven' might house some, if not all of my answers." he stated.

"Why? He seems irrelevant." the figure asked. The sky then turned green to signify the appearance of a massive warship shaped like a hand.

Cinnabar yawned at the sight of it. "Boring. Darkworld has much better tech than those pathetic Homeworlders since that Rebellion. And even our own wonder why we haven't opened fire on them yet." he stated as his drone flew next to him.

"DRON-5. Follow me. Activate your cloaking system, and don't act unless I order you to." Cinnabar commanded, to which the drone would respond by activating its cloaking system.

"And to answer your question, Ebon, if a mere human could associate themselves with a Gem, then they have to be special."

"Just don't expect him to get any points from me until he does something crazy within my eyesight." the figure stated as it disconnected. Cinnabar put the communicator he had in one of his pockets.

"Let's go." Cinnabar ordered as he headed towards an area where a light cannon fired, barely scratching the warship.

**Beach**

**9:20 AM**

Cinnabar hid near the Crystal Gems' temple at a safe distance, where he could witness the encounter. A gem that appeared to be a fusion was firing arrows at the warship, while not even denting it.

'Ancient world amateurs.' Cinnabar thought to himself. The human referred to as 'Steven' then appeared, to the shock of the Crystal Gems.

'Now this could get interesting.' Cinnabar thought. Suddenly, a massive blast of fire headed for the Crystal Gems, guided by an unknown source. Steven would activate his shield, which was able to halt the blast of fire. The energy produced by that shield would knock Steven unconscious.

The figure that produced the blast was in the center of it, and it was an orange gem with an orange knight helmet, an orange, oval-like gemstone on his back, armored gauntlets and boots, and orange armor that could withstand the heat produced by him.

"This is what you chose, Rose? To implant yourself in some… human!" the gem stated as the rest of the Crystal Gems ran to Steven.

"Unforgivable… YOU PARASITE! PINK WAS ENOUGH, BUT THIS!? YOU WON'T EVEN GET THE MERCY OF A SHATTERING!" the gem shouted as he produced two metal whips.

The Amethyst would produce her own whip, and fight the unknown gem. The gem was able to pull Amethyst to him, before amassing concentrated fire energy on his fist which he used to punch the Amethyst, poofing her upon impact with the earth.

The unknown Gem advanced. "Why do you defend her? You should know how low she would go, and how low she drove my master to go for the sole purpose of ending her and those that would anger him!" he asked the other two Gems.

"Why are you even working for Homeworld?" the pearl asked.

"We are working 'with' Homeworld, not 'for'. And you should know our reasons. Tell me, does the name 'Pink Diamond' ring any bells?"

The pearl fired a blast of energy in response. The blast would be stopped by a single, blazing shield with an unknown insignia on it.

"Sad. Homeworld's punishments would be a mercy compared to what Lord Red would do to you, and to Rose. Especially to Rose!" the unknown Gem stated as he used his whips to launch an attack on the two Crystal Gems. The ship would land soon after.

The orange Gem would use his whips in combination with fire attacks to lure Pearl and Garnet towards each other, before wrapping them together and cutting them in two, poofing them. The unknown Gem walked to Steven, before returning his whips and summoning an orange trident.

"Rose… you chose to make humans like this one suffer under your whim? Then if the human you used can't survive without you, I'll make it quick for him. But definitely not for you." the unknown Gem stated as he reached out to the gem inside Steven with his free hand.

"Sunstone! We need her in one piece, you know!" a voice stated from an orange Gem with white hair from close to the ship.

"Please, Jasper. You hate her, too." Sunstone defended.

"At least let Homeworld give her one trial before you go psycho on her!"

"You should be saying that to my boss, not me. But what do I know, I'm just a lowly traitor that fought for what he believed was right, then again, you Homeworlders never knew what the right things were. Homeworld is omnicidal sans themselves, Darkworld only keeps those with uses, and Lord Red is part of the group in between."

"Don't make me strand you here on this lifeless husk."

"If you're so insistent on that, I will have to comply. Know that once Rose is out of the picture, our alliance is null." Sunstone stated as he returned his trident inside his Gem, carried the poofed Gems in one hand, and Steven in the other hand. Sunstone would then walk towards the ship, where Jasper and two other Gems were waiting, one green and one blue.

Sunstone gave the poofed Gems to Jasper. "You will put these in separate cells that are far away from each other. Especially the fusion." he advised.

"Hmph." the Jasper walked away, and the green Gem followed her with "Jasper, this was supposed to be about…" as she followed, out of sound, out of mind in Sunstone's eyes. Only the blue Gem was left.

The Gem was about to follow, but Sunstone grabbed her by the neck with his free hand and forced her to a wall. "You think this is funny, Lazuli? 'There aren't any threats on Earth', you said, 'The Crystal Gems are weak', you said! WELL, LOOK AT THIS!" he stated as he held Steven in front of her.

"That isn't Rose Quartz!" the Lazuli defended.

"Well, then, why don't we rip out that gemstone and check! Oh, wait, we can't! Why? Because Homeworld wants to see her suffer their weak forms of torture! Now, I'm going to keep this vessel in another cell. And since you went and withheld information from all of us, you're going to another cell! THIS IS WHY YOU DON'T MESS WITH ME!"

Sunstone amplified the energy in his fist, causing the Lazuli to feel greater pain. Then, he threw her in another cell before finding a cell that was far away from the other Crystal Gems.

"Let's see how long you last, you scum." Sunstone stated as he threw Steven into the cell.

Cinnabar retreated back to his ship, before both ships went into orbit of Earth. Cinnabar would dock on the ship, and exit.

"Homeworld's ships are spacious, I'll give them tha-aaaat!" Cinnabar stated as he walked, before being intercepted by Sunstone.

"Explain yourself, Darkworlder." Sunstone ordered.

"What, can't you greet people nicely?" Cinnabar countered.

Sunstone responded by throwing Cinnabar down.

"You know… Darkworld only took an interest in Earth based on Gem energies that came from a Homeworlder." Cinnabar explained as he stood up.

"Oh? So, do you know which Gem?"

"It may have been a Gem from the higher positions on Homeworld's hierarchy."

Sunstone pondered this before deciding what to say.

"That Lazuli that came from Earth! I knew there was something off when my informant told me about that incident, and now Rose Quartz comes into the picture once again!"

"Are you sure that's even Rose Quartz?"

"If I'm wrong, then I'm Red Diamond's Pearl! ARRRGH!" Sunstone shouted before punching a wall.

"... how about I make you a deal?"

Sunstone narrowed his eyes. "What kind of deal?"

"If I know Homeworld, then they'll want to give Rose Quartz a trial that isn't run by your Diamond's kangaroo court." Sunstone stated as a cloaked figure continued to watch, its cobalt blue eyes surveying the encounter while remaining unnoticed.

"My Diamond can get chaotic sometimes…"

"So, how about I stop this ship from leaving Earth's orbit while you go and report back to your master about the Crystal Gems? We both hate Homeworld, after all."

"And why should I trust you? You're not exactly a good Gem morally."

"Please. This deal is mutually beneficial and my master grows stronger every day while Homeworld continues to rot. You would do best not to antagonize us and the sentient life forms that have proven their use to us. So, deal… or no deal?" Cinnabar stated as he held out his hand.

"... fine. I don't trust Darkworld, but I don't play with fire. Metaphorically, of course." Sunstone stated as he shook Cinnabar's hand.

"Good. Now, get back to your little ship docked here, and we'll never speak of this again."

Sunstone sighed. "Only because of Homeworld." he said as he walked toward his ship while Cinnabar walked in another direction. The cloaked figure would walk in a different direction.

**Cell**

Lapis sat in a cell, before hearing footsteps. "I told you, I don't-" she began before turning around and noticing the cloaked figure. Said figure would disable the barrier separating the two.

"Who…" Lapis began while moving back.

"Defective. You and your friends will fall in time." the unknown Gem stated as he produced an ice mirror.

"That voice… and that power! You're-" Lapis began before being stabbed with an ice blade.

"It matters not who I am today. Fear me when Earth's extermination comes." the cloaked Gem spoke, before poofing Lapis. He would then place her into an ice mirror before going in another direction.

**Engine Room**

Cinnabar opened the door, walked toward a Homeworld engine, and placed an explosive on it. He would then proceed to walk towards his own ship. He noticed the fusion Gem and Jasper fighting, but ignored them in favor of halting the advances of Homeworld. Due to this, he didn't notice the cloaked figure appear behind Jasper and seal her into an ice mirror. The figure would then exit the area while the Garnet was left in shock before a fist came out of another mirror and was able to halt the Garnet.

He would return to his ship and notice that Sunstone's fighter had already left the area, and take off until he was far enough from the ship, allowing him to detonate his explosives without problem. The ship would then crash down to Earth soon after.

**One Minute Earlier**

The peridot sat in the cockpit of the ship, preparing to take off for Homeworld. Suddenly, she felt a tapping on her shoulder.

"What is it this time, Jas-" the peridot stated as she turned around and was thrown into one of the escape pods by an unseen force. This force would then hit the eject button on the pod, sending it down to Earth. The figure then felt a great tremor in the ship, and saw it growing closer to Earth. It braced for impact.

**Beach**

**9:40 AM**

Steven was sealed inside a bubble in a room with Pearl and Amethyst, and was covered in rubble. There was banging coming from part of the rubble, which would lead to Garnet being revealed from the outside world. Steven then removed his bubble shield.

**?**

The cloaked Gem would appear using his mirrors, before summoning two mirrors. One contained Jasper, and the other contained Lapis. He would then merge these two Gems together, creating a fusion Gem. Malachite would take form once this process was completed.

Malachite opened their eyes. "What- you!" the Lapis in the fusion began.

"That's not the side I want to see. Jasper!"

"WHAT!? I COME TO EARTH ONCE AND I GET THIS HIDEOUS FORM ATTACHED TO ME! UNFUSE ME AT ONCE!" the Jasper in the fusion screamed.

"Look, we can make an alliance. You hate Rose Quartz. So do I. She ruined what was once a vast empire, the strongest in Gemkind, to be replaced by filthy Darkworlders and their technologies. I believe that with your fusion, Jasper… or should I call you 'Malachite'?"

"Defer to me as Jasper. I hate being some fusion."

"Fine. As I was saying, Jasper, we share a common enemy, you and I. The only obstacle to your revenge is the Lazuli that I fused you with. In time, we can suppress her."

Lapis' response to that was to take control of the fusion before attacking the unknown Gem with water. This attack would be frozen by the unknown Gem, and the ice would move to restrain the fusion.

"My point exactly. We need to control and suppress her, for the clash of the titans requires no distractions."

"And once we're done…"

"Rose Quartz will receive her sentence. I like it when my servants start my words for me."

"Your servants? Sounds like Blue Diamond's right hand to me."

The cloaked Gem chuckled. "In time, dear Jasper. In time."

**?**

Sunstone bowed down in front of an unknown figure, and had just gave off the information about Rose Quartz. A fist slammed down onto the throne it's owner, a colossal Gem with a red diamond at his chest, was on.

"That scum isn't gone!?" a furious voice asked.

"Correct, my Diamond. I suggest we don't overreact about this, though." Sunstone stated.

"Grrrr… leave for Earth at once! If necessary, call in as many forces as you need to bring Rose Quartz to me, in one piece so she'll feel the pain she caused to us all!" the voice ordered.

"As you command, my Diamond." Sunstone stated as he left the room. Red Diamond then stood up from his throne and screamed, using his anger to create even more heat to inhabit the already consumed planet. Sunstone knew this was coming, so he left the planet soon after he left his Diamond's throne.

**Earth**

**10:00 AM**

Cinnabar activated a diamond communicator that was colored black. The master would show up on the communicator.

"My Lord. Homeworld and Red Diamond have caught wind of the Crystal Gems." Cinnabar stated.

"Is that so? I knew we couldn't keep it from them for long." the voice responded.

"How should we respond to this?"

"Continue your spying. Until we can prepare to finish what Pink Diamond started, keep searching for the Cluster and find out if we can handle it."

"Do you think I'll need help with that?"

"I'll send Cyrus if it means helping with diplomacy with those Crystal Gems, and Emerald in case you need some combat support."

"Good."

"Go. Complete your assignment. For our ambitions."

"As you command, my Lord." Cinnabar stated as the voice on the other end disconnected.

**So, here's some new Gem villians for the Crystal Gems to face. I'll introduce a lot more Gems to antagonize the Crystal Gems at some point, including the Prime Topaz mentioned by Cinnabar. This, in addition to general lore changes, are part of the formula for the Darkworld saga. Cinnabar will be more of a scout, rarely seeing the Crystal Gems unless they get to his location after he does.**

**As for Gems like the unknown Gem, they work at the behest of Homeworld, but follow their own goals for rebuilding the Gem Empire to become a worthy rival to Darkworld. I'll start with Sunstone and the unknown Gem, and work my way up from there. Until then, farewell.**


End file.
